Work, the kids, the house, the bills and all of the other things that go on in life on a daily basis, it’s easy to feel stressed out. In fact, for many people, feeling stressed out is just such a common thing that they don’t know anything else. And, stress isn’t always a bad thing.
In fact, in small doses, stress can help you perform better under pressure and it can help to inspire you to do your very best. However, though it can be good for you in small doses, when it is something you experience on a constant basis, it can be extremely bad for you.

Keep on reading to learn what stress is and how it can negatively impact your health and well being.
What is Stress?
Stress is the body’s natural reaction to the things that make you feel threatened, sad, or that somehow disrupt your normal, everyday life. When your brain senses danger, whether it’s real or it is something you perceive to be real, the body naturally moves into defense mode.
Your natural reaction to stress is to go into that fight-or-flight response. The purpose of this is to help you become more focused on what it is that is challenging you.
It’s the body’s natural form of protection and it can be a good thing, especially when you are in an emergency situation.
For example, if your child is in trouble, stress can give you the strength that you need to save him from danger or it can help you to quickly step on the brakes in your car in order to avoid an accident. However, there is a point when stress stops being helpful and starts to cause major damage to your health and well being.
The Dangers of Too Much Stress
When you are constantly stressed out, your health and well being are severely compromised. Here’s a look at 10 ways that stress can negatively affect your life:

1. It impacts the nervous system. When you’re feeling stressed, your body uses its energy in order to fight off what it thinks is threatening it. This signals the adrenal glands, which releases adrenaline and cortisol, which raises your blood pressure and impacts the digestive processes.
2. Your muscles tense up as a way to handle the stress, which can lead to tension headaches.
3. It causes you to breathe faster, which can cause panic attacks.
4. It makes you produce epinephrine, which is known as the stress hormone.
5. It causes the liver to produce more glucose.
6. It causes you to eat more or less because your body thinks it either needs food or it doesn’t.
7. It prompts you to use tobacco or alcohol in order to soothe your stress.
8. It can cause nausea or pain in the stomach.
9. Stress can cause acid reflux.
10. Stress can have an adverse reaction on the intestines ability to absorb foods, causing diarrhea.

Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/10-fixable-stress-related-health-problems
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-causes-and-effects.htm
http://www.stress.org/stress-effects/